Space Javelin

There's a suspiciously high amount of news for December, and a surprising amount of it isn't particularly good. From people holding out on turning in their explode-prone Galaxy Note 7's to some notable teething issues with the latest hardware revision of the MacBook Pro -- though this seems to happen nearly every time there's a major hardware revision) -- and AT&T having to pay a hefty fine for their "mobile cramming" practices. And that's just us getting warmed up.

On a more positive note, Mike reviews his own new MacBook 2016 with Touchbar, and we also spend some time looking forward to next week's Rogue One debut. We also talk about IDC getting called out on their misleading Apple Watch numbers, and the mother of all walkbacks on the iPhone 8 (now 7s again) rumors, which went from "every technology even being thought of is in the 2017 iPhone" to "actually no, it's the same thing again but in red." All this and more on episode 21, so climb aboard, cadets!

And we're back from our US Thanksgiving break in more ways than one! Mike rejoins the podcast -- and he's sporting both a new, slightly more underground bunker as well as a brand spankin' new pimped-out 2016 MacBook Pro with touchbar! We'll look more into Mike's new machine next episode, but we did get initial impressions, and this week we discover he's already hacking it! The rest of the show is mostly grim news as befits the turn of the season, we suppose: unsafe counterfeit Apple chargers being sold through legitimate sites like Amazon, defective iPhone 6s batteries that may fail early (but will be replaced free), graphic glitches in the new MacBook Pros (not a hardware problem, just Adobe needing to get its act together), blown-out speakers due to bad Windows drivers in Boot Camp (will again be fixed free), Apple racing to fix a "calendar spamming" issue, Pebble allegedly being killed off by Fitbit, and a new Android malware that can grab all your Google data.

Charles and Mike also take a look at a recent proposal to force (or bribe) Apple to do some iPhone manufacturing (or more likely, final assembly) in the United States, explore how to add an external GPU to the new MBP (it ain't pretty), and in a desperate attempt to find something good to say this week, we also celebrate the Plex Media Server for Mac, which is now free (but there's a bit of a catch). All this and a lot of laughs and more -- so buckle up, cadets, 2016 is almost over but it ain't dead yet (unlike all those celebrities and notable figures who didn't survive its wrath ...), and there's two more episodes of Space Javelin yet to go before the year's out!

We're almost back to normal following last week's special edition, with Charles back but Mike still MIA, so we recruit best-selling tech author William Gallagher to drop in and tell us a little of the backstory behind last week's short story. We also discuss the new repair program for the iPhone 6 Plus and units that are affected by the malady known as "touch disease," the latest rumor about Apple and future iPhone manufacturing (and pricing in the US and elsewhere), the potential for a trade war, and call out some bad tech journalism -- naturally, framing Apple for stuff -- just for good measure. This of course leads to a discussion of security (including that texting backdoor that sends your Android SMSes to China), and the bad news of the week about the future of AppleScript and Automator and the departure of those technologies' guardian.

Now how much would you pay (with or without a 35 percent tariff)? But wait, there's more! Our children are being indoctrinated in Chinese and Apple's insidious Hour of Code, the new Apple book (wait -- a physical book?) that will cost you about as much as a fixed iPhone 6 Plus, and we wind it up on a high note with the news that Apple is working with researchers and medical firms to use ResearchKit and HealthKit to improve everyone's ability to monitor and seek treatment for Parkinson's Disease (and more). All this and the activity rivalry between William and Charles (and a great tip to improve your activity score), the secrets of William's invoicing system, the true nature of freelancing, and the secret of why Charles never became a programmer despite a promising start back when there were only two bits to worry about. Climb on board and blast off with us for an hour of insight and laughs, cadets!

A special mini-episode this week, as Charles is in New York working on another podcast and other stuff, and Mike is taking care of some sick kids. We present a terrific short story, written and performed by our own William Gallagher, about a man with a pile of strange photographs and his desperate search for an answer before it's too late. Our thanks to BrumRadio.com (@BrumRadioTales on Twitter) and producer Phillip Ellis for bringing this story to life.

Just when we thought we were out of the Samsung Fiasco scandal hole, they just drag us back in -- this time with a US recall of Samsung's washing machines, which can become Flying Lids of Maiming by putting the machines in high spin mode. It's gotten to be something of a joke: if Samsung wants to make something that doesn't blow up, maybe it should go into the fireworks business! Mike and Charles heap scorn and ridicule upon poor Samsung, adding insult to injury by pointing out that the company now claims only 0.9 percent (not eight percent as we said on the recording -- oops!) of smartphone profits. This brings up the question: if one company is making all the money, does it matter if they're not the top selling platform?

Also covered in this episode is Neil Young's quiet admission of defeat in the "high-res audio" vs. compressed music wars, how the iPhone 7 is probably doing better than analysts think, the recent round of price cuts from Apple (wait -- what?!) on USB-C adapters to help cool customer outrage about the transition to the new port (same as it ever was, as we point out), the brilliance of the Touch Bar on the new MacBook Pros, and where would-be customers are right (and where they're wrong) in their complaints about the new MBP. We also pass on a super-handy tip for a bootable macOS Sierra thumb drive, discuss the rumors and concerns around the AT&T and Time Warner merger, and natter on about a few other things. We invite any listeners who are also fans of the TV show "Doctor Who" who are in the New England area to come out and meet Charles as he moderates panels and does various on-stage events for the L.I. Who 4 gathering in Hauppauge, New York the weekend of November 11-13. Yeah, we packed a lot into this week's 50-minute runtime ... you might say it's bigger on the inside!

This one is short and jam-packed. Charles returns from his most recent gallivant to team up with Mike in Virginia, and of course the main topic is the new MacBook Pro (which, for the record, hasn't exploded thus far -- just to be different). Also touched on is the Google Pixel, the Surface Book 4 and Surface Studio, the history of luggables to portables, the post-PC era, Apple's collaboration with LG on a 5K monitor, the stamped Apple logo, Microsoft's renaissance of sorts, Amazon gets a pass, and so much more. So much news, so many feels. Climb aboard!

This week, Malcolm Owen hosts the podcast for the first time ever, with special guest William Gallagher. As the title implies, there is also a segment (recorded last week) with Charles as the trio discuss the Doctor Who Experience attraction in Cardiff, but before that we bring you up to date on the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fiasco, and possible could-have-been Vice President picks. There's also speculation on the forthcoming October 27 Mac event, trying to figure out what the heck the Nintendo Switch wants to be, Malcolm trying to teach William about gaming (hilarious), and Tesla barring its owners from using the self-driving technologies to allow their cars to moonlight as automatic Uber/Lyft vehicles. Such is the bizarre world we live in, folks. Dive in and enjoy some delightfully dry British wit with the former One More Thing team once again.

A very special episode of the Javelin this week, as Charles, Malcolm and William (from the late lamented One More Thing), and special guest Heather all converge in Cardiff to fulfill a long-standing dream of meeting up in person (thanks, plummeting pound). The sound quality is that of a live chat in a dining room rather than our usual respective mini-studios, but the conversation flows like tea and we cover the ongoing Samsung flaming Galaxy Note 7 disaster, Mac sales and how things aren't as bad as they appear, the Dash developer debacle, the need for a Mac lineup refresh all around, Wireless CarPlay arriving at last, the accuracy of the Apple Watch, Quicken 2017 for Mac and iOS, and various and sundry other things. Enjoy the conversation, and listen out for the toaster-oriented easter egg (and toast) at the end. Pip pip eh wot cadets? Jolly good one, this.

While Charles is away, Mike and Jordan will play ... mostly Destiny: Rise of Iron, apparently. But before all that, there's yet more bad news for Samsung on the battery front, the new Google Pixel (and Pixel XL -- why didn't they call it the mega-Pixel?) smartphone to puzzle over, news from Facebook and the Oculus Rift people, and some speculation on what's coming up from Apple. What's more, special guest Jordan gives us a brief report on his recent adventures at PAX, and why Virtual Reality may still have some hurdles to overcome.

What's the magical audio podcast where you can hear more about the Samsung washing machine saga, Apple Store vandalism, a consensus review of Star Trek: Beyond and some news on the not-as-forthcoming-as-it-once-was new Star Trek series, some new (but seemingly minor) iPhone 7 issues, a rundown of what Apple keeps secure for you (and what it doesn't), the award Apple Music won, and a new promise of Charles absence next week that is bound to be broken like the last one? RIGHT HERE! Climb on board, cadets, the sky is no longer the limit!